Patents Assigned to NKT Photonics A/S
  • Patent number: 9774163
    Abstract: Variable repetition rate and wavelength optical pulse source, comprising a fixed or variable repetition rate source of supercontinuum pulses; a wavelength tunable optical bandpass filter to filter the supercontinuum pulses at two or more wavelengths, wherein said source of supercontinuum pulses and said wavelength tunable optical bandpass filter are configured such that the optical pulse source can provide variable repetition rate and variable wavelength optical pulses including a series of repetition rates with selected wavelength-varying pulse trains.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 10, 2013
    Date of Patent: September 26, 2017
    Assignee: NKT Photonics A/S
    Inventors: John Redvers Clowes, Anatoly Borisovich Grudinin, Ian Michael Godfrey
  • Patent number: 9766530
    Abstract: A supercontinuum light source includes a microstructured optical fiber, and a feeding unit arranged for feeding pump pulses to the microstructured optical fiber, wherein the feeding unit comprises a picosecond laser and one or more amplifiers, wherein the microstructured optical fiber is a silica fiber wherein at least a part of the core being of silica or doped silica, and including a core including core material and a cladding surrounding the core, and at least the core material is loaded with deuterium to have an OD absorption peak around 1870 nm, wherein the feeding unit is spliced to the microstructured optical fiber.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 2, 2015
    Date of Patent: September 19, 2017
    Assignee: NKT PHOTONICS A/S
    Inventors: Carsten L. Thomsen, Thomas Vestergaard Andersen
  • Patent number: 9746749
    Abstract: An optical fiber includes a core and a cladding. The optical fiber includes a core material and a cladding material, respectively, wherein the fiber is a non-linear microstructured optical fiber, the microstructured optical fiber being obtainable by a method including loading with hydrogen and/or deuterium and optionally annealing and/or irradiation whereby the lifetime of the fiber may be extended in high power applications.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 3, 2009
    Date of Patent: August 29, 2017
    Assignee: NKT Photonics A/S
    Inventors: Carsten L. Thomsen, Thomas Vestergaard Andersen
  • Patent number: 9722389
    Abstract: A laser system for generating optical pulses at an operating wavelength of the laser system. The system has an optical resonator comprising first and second reflectors, and a tapered optical fiber disposed between the first and second reflectors. The tapered optical fiber has a core which has a tapered input section which tapers from single mode to multimode at the laser operating wavelength, an inner section of substantially constant diameter capable of supporting multiple modes at the laser operating wavelength and a tapered output section which tapers from a first diameter to a second diameter that is smaller than the first diameter.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 11, 2015
    Date of Patent: August 1, 2017
    Assignee: NKT Photonics A/S
    Inventors: John Redvers Clowes, Jonathan William Gill, Stephen Green, Mridu Kalita, Adam Lee Devine, Anatoly Borisovich Grudinin
  • Patent number: 9667033
    Abstract: The invention relates to a laser device, comprising a laser configured to generate laser light and a laser control module configured to receive at least a portion of the laser light generated by the laser, to generate a control signal and to feed the control signal back to the laser for stabilizing the frequency, wherein the laser control module comprises a tunable frequency discriminating element which is preferably continuously frequency tunable, and where the laser control module is placed outside the laser cavity.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 8, 2013
    Date of Patent: May 30, 2017
    Assignee: NKT PHOTONICS A/S
    Inventors: Jens E. Pedersen, Poul Varming, Christian V. Poulsen, Thomas O. Fagerhøj, Bjarke Gøth, Henrik Sørensen
  • Patent number: 9634457
    Abstract: A source of optical supercontinuum radiation comprises a length of microstructured optical fiber and a pump laser adapted to generate lasing radiation at a pump wavelength. The length of microstructured optical fiber is arranged to receive lasing radiation at the pump wavelength to generate optical supercontinuum radiation and comprises a core region and a cladding region which surrounds the core region.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 14, 2015
    Date of Patent: April 25, 2017
    Assignee: NKT Photonics A/S
    Inventors: Jonathan Cave Knight, Dmitry Vladimirovich Skryabin, James Morgan Stone
  • Publication number: 20170085051
    Abstract: The invention relates to a supercontinuum light source comprising a microstructured optical fiber and a pump light source. The microstructured optical fiber comprises a core and a cladding region surrounding the core, as well as a first fiber length section, a second fiber length section and an intermediate fiber length section between said first and second fiber length sections. The first fiber length section comprises a core with a first characteristic core diameter. The second fiber length section comprises a core with a second characteristic core diameter, smaller than said first characteristic core diameter, where said second characteristic core diameter is substantially constant along said second fiber length section. The intermediate length section of the optical fiber comprises a core which is tapered from said first characteristic core diameter to said second characteristic core diameter over a tapered length.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 28, 2016
    Publication date: March 23, 2017
    Applicant: NKT PHOTONICS A/S
    Inventors: Carsten L. THOMSEN, Thomas T. ALKESKJOLD, Erik B. THOMSEN
  • Patent number: 9504374
    Abstract: A supercontinuum light source comprising an intermediate supercontinuum light source and a single mode coupling unit, an optical measurement system comprising such light source, as well as a method of measuring are described. The supercontinuum light source comprises a pulse frequency multiplier to increase the repetition rate and the single mode coupling unit is arranged to dampen and shape the spectrum from the intermediate supercontinuum light source to allow measurements with a reduced noise floor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 30, 2013
    Date of Patent: November 29, 2016
    Assignee: NKT PHOTONICS A/S
    Inventors: Carsten L. Thomsen, Thomas Vestergaard Andersen, Thomas Feuchter
  • Publication number: 20160170136
    Abstract: The invention relates to a microstructured optical fiber for generating incoherent supercontinuum light upon feeding of pump light. The microstructured optical fiber has a first section and a second section. A cross-section through the second section perpendicularly to a longitudinal axis of the fiber has a second relative size of microstructure elements and preferably a second pitch that is smaller than a blue edge pitch for the second relative size of microstructure elements. The invention also relates to an incoherent supercontinuum source comprising a microstructured optical fiber according to the invention.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 7, 2014
    Publication date: June 16, 2016
    Applicant: NKT PHOTONICS A/S
    Inventors: Jeppe JOHANSEN, Ole BANG, Casper LARSEN, Thomas FEUCHTER, Carsten L. THOMSEN, Thomas Vestergaard ANDERSEN
  • Publication number: 20160156148
    Abstract: The invention relates to a microstructured optical fiber for generating supercontinuum light. The optical fiber comprises a core and a cladding region surrounding the core. The optical fiber comprises a first fiber length section, a second fiber length section as well as an intermediate fiber length section between said first and second fiber length sections. The first fiber length section has a core with a first characteristic core diameter larger than about 7 ?m. The second fiber length section has a core with a second characteristic core diameter, smaller than said first characteristic core diameter. The intermediate length section of the optical fiber comprises a core which is tapered from said first characteristic core diameter to said second characteristic core diameter over a tapered length. The invention also relates to a supercontinuum light source comprising an optical fiber according to the invention and a pump light source.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 7, 2014
    Publication date: June 2, 2016
    Applicant: NKT PHOTONICS A/S
    Inventors: Carsten L. THOMSEN, Thomas T. ALKESKJOLD, Erik B. THOMSEN
  • Publication number: 20160085137
    Abstract: A supercontinuum light source includes a microstructured optical fiber, and a feeding unit arranged for feeding pump pulses to the microstructured optical fiber, wherein the feeding unit comprises a picosecond laser and one or more amplifiers, wherein the microstructured optical fiber is a silica fiber wherein at least a part of the core being of silica or doped silica, and including a core including core material and a cladding surrounding the core, and at least the core material is loaded with deuterium to have an OD absorption peak around 1870 nm, wherein the feeding unit is spliced to the microstructured optical fiber.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 2, 2015
    Publication date: March 24, 2016
    Applicant: NKT PHOTONICS A/S
    Inventors: Carsten L. THOMSEN, Thomas Vestergaard ANDERSEN
  • Patent number: 9213136
    Abstract: The present invention relates to an optical fiber comprising at least a first end with an first end facet, the optical fiber comprising a core region capable of guiding light at a first wavelength ?; and a microstructured cladding region surrounding said core region. The cladding region comprises an inner cladding region and an outer cladding region. The inner cladding region comprises inner cladding features arranged in an inner cladding background material having a refractive index n1, said inner cladding features comprising thermally collapsible holes or voids. The outer cladding region comprising outer cladding features arranged in an outer cladding background material, said outer cladding features comprising solid material with refractive index n2, wherein n2 is lower than n1. The invention further relates to methods for splicing such an optical fiber to an optical component and to methods for using such an optical fiber.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 16, 2010
    Date of Patent: December 15, 2015
    Assignee: NKT PHOTONICS A/S
    Inventor: Martin Dybendal Maack
  • Patent number: 9048627
    Abstract: A mode locked fiber laser system is arranged to have a lasing bandwidth and having a linear cavity, the cavity including a gain medium, a saturable absorber having a saturation power, and a filter having a spectral response, wherein the mode locked fiber laser system is arranged so that substantial CW mode locked operation is obtainable with less than 3 times the saturation fluence impinging on the saturable absorber.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 18, 2008
    Date of Patent: June 2, 2015
    Assignee: NKT PHOTONICS A/S
    Inventors: Thomas Vestergaard Andersen, Lasse Leick, Jesper Laegsgaard
  • Patent number: 9001414
    Abstract: The invention relates to a high power amplifier waveguide for amplifying an optical signal wherein photo darkening due to high optical flux is reduced considerably. This is achieved by providing a cladding pumped amplifier waveguide wherein the optical mode overlap to the active material of the waveguide is low and/or wherein the active material is distributed over a large cross sectional region of the waveguide.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 30, 2009
    Date of Patent: April 7, 2015
    Assignee: NKT Photonics A/S
    Inventors: Kent Mattsson, Kim Per Hansen
  • Patent number: 9001851
    Abstract: A tunable light includes a super continuum light source and a non-linear crystal, the super continuum light source comprising a pump source and a generator fiber, the generator fiber having an input end and an output end, and the super continuum light source and the non-linear crystal being arranged so that at least a part of output light emitted from the output end of the generator fiber is brought into interaction with the non-linear crystal under an angle of incidence ? relative to a surface of the non-linear crystal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 20, 2014
    Date of Patent: April 7, 2015
    Assignee: NKT Photonics A/S
    Inventor: Scott Charles Buchter
  • Patent number: 8982918
    Abstract: A light source system for delivery of light including a light source having an output arranged to emit light in an output path, the output path including an unguided section and an at least partially transmissive optical component wherein the optical component provides at least one residual reflection when the system is in use and a detector system is arranged to detect said residual reflection. The detector is in one embodiment arranged to produce at least one feedback response arranged to stabilize the optical output of the light source system. Hereby a feedback may be implemented with little or no reduction of performance.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 30, 2010
    Date of Patent: March 17, 2015
    Assignee: NKT Photonics A/S
    Inventor: Morten Ostergaard Pedersen
  • Patent number: 8977087
    Abstract: The invention relates to a tapered optical fiber and a method and drawing tower for producing such an optical fiber. The tapered optical fiber comprising a core region that is capable of guiding light along a longitudinal axis of said optical fiber and a cladding region surrounding said core region. The optical fiber comprises a tapered section arranged between a first longitudinal position and a second longitudinal position, said tapered section comprising a first taper section having a first length, L1, over which the optical fiber is tapered down to a taper waist, and a second taper section having a second length, L2, over which said optical fiber is tapered up.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 30, 2011
    Date of Patent: March 10, 2015
    Assignee: NKT Photonics A/S
    Inventors: Christian Jacobsen, Ole Bang, Simon Toft Sørensen, Peter Morten Moselund, Carsten L. Thomsen
  • Publication number: 20150029515
    Abstract: The invention relates to a laser device, comprising a laser configured to generate laser light and a laser control module configured to receive at least a portion of the laser light generated by the laser, to generate a control signal and to feed the control signal back to the laser for stabilizing the frequency, wherein the laser control module comprises a tunable frequency discriminating element which is preferably continuously frequency tunable, and where the laser control module is placed outside the laser cavity.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 8, 2013
    Publication date: January 29, 2015
    Applicant: NKT PHOTONICS A/S
    Inventors: Jens E. Pedersen, Poul Varming, Christian V. Poulsen, Thomas P. Fagerhøj, Bjarke Gøth, Henrik Sørensen
  • Patent number: 8938146
    Abstract: The invention relates to a hollow core optical fiber having light guided in a single-mode in the core.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 7, 2013
    Date of Patent: January 20, 2015
    Assignee: NKT Photonics A/S
    Inventors: Jens Kristian Lyngsøe, Jes Broeng
  • Patent number: 8903214
    Abstract: A single-mode optical fiber for guiding an optical signal, wherein the core region is capable of guiding an optical signal in a fundamental core mode at an optical signal wavelength. A cladding region is arranged to surround the core region and includes an inner cladding region and an outer cladding region. The inner cladding region includes a background material and a plurality of inner cladding features arranged in the background material, wherein a plurality of the plurality of inner cladding features are of a first type of feature that includes an air hole surrounded by a high-index region comprising a high-index material that is larger than the refractive index of the inner cladding background material.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 27, 2011
    Date of Patent: December 2, 2014
    Assignee: NKT Photonics A/S
    Inventor: Thomas Tanggaard Alkeskjold